Abstract

This chapter offers a sketch of some practical components of a small but arguably typical permaculture homestead, with attention given to possible motivations that permaculturalists may have for some of their endeavours. A brief generalised sketch of an African agrarian homestead is offered, with some conceptual factors coming into view, and overlap between permaculture and African agrarianism is highlighted. The issue of centralisation in South Africa is raised, with the argument being that it is inimical not only to permaculture and African agrarianism, but also to the well-being of ecological systems in general. The example of extant waste-water and sewerage management systems in South Africa is briefly given the spotlight for the purpose of illustrating what is at stake ecologically if decentralised systems are not embraced more widely. The chapter ends with a call for action: despite transformation rhetoric in South African politics, centralisation continues to give impetus to homogeneous forms of development at the cost of cultural and ecological diversity. The confluence of African agrarianism and permaculture illustrates some characteristics of culturally-inclusive, ecologically-sensitive, and refreshingly simple SMART targets.